162 BIRD BIOGRAPHIES 



gives such charm to the Nightingale's 

 song, and when we hear one singing, as 

 we often do in the light of day, the 

 music loses half its charm. 



The Whitethroat always has its nest 

 in Cowslip Corner, but I have never been 

 able to find it, for a Whitethroat knows 

 as well as any of the Warblers how to 

 conceal its nest. It is a clever bird, full 

 of all kinds of little ruses to attract you 

 away. The male will sing continuously 

 over a certain bush, knowing well that you 

 are watching, and all the time the nest is 

 in quite a different spot. I once went 

 towards a bush in which I knew there 

 was a Whitethroat's nest, and as I passed 

 it, the small brown bird just tumbled out 

 of the nest and lay upon the ground at 

 my feet. It was not dead, for I could see 

 it panting ; one wing was hanging helpless 

 at its side, and a leg apparently broken 

 was sticking out from under its tail. 

 What was wrong ? I had struck the bush 



